Stray's Gambit
by Stray23
Summary: When Tim Drake, now known as Stray, is contacted to assist Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad and JLA, he discovers what it's like to work with a government funded group and the perks/annoyances that come along with it, but he also discovers a bit of mystery in the form of unspoken feelings. (New 52ish, Tim as Stray/Catlad. Possible TimxCourtney/StrayxStar Girl. Reviews More to come
1. Strange Beginning

Stray sat patiently in his cell in Arkham, ignoring the guards and cameras that would routinely turn and look at him with suspicion, smirking to himself as he acknowledged the looks with an occasional stretch. A few minutes later and still nothing. He sighed to himself as he began to lightly tap his right foot for a moment, only to stop and rest his elbows on his legs and lean forward, looking around every few moments out of boredom.

_**Flashback:**__ Tim was busy making himself a simple lunch when the telephone rang. He set the items down and stared at the phone for a moment as he raised an eyebrow. __**'Strange,'**__ he thought to himself for a moment before picking up._

"**Mr. Drake," the person on the end of the line said quickly. "I need you to do us a favor." **_Tim stood there and thought about this for a minute before the light bulb went off in his head: Amanda Waller. Tim had read about her when going through Batman's files a while back, but never once thought that he would end up speaking to her. He was suspicious of her asking him for help, seeing as to how she had her own 'team' of individuals at her disposal. _**"It's about Quinn isn't it?" **_He asked as he sat down on the couch. Harley Quinn had been working with the Suicide Squad for a few months before the Joker disappeared, and once that bit of news had reached her ears, she was back in Gotham before Waller could tell her to stay put; at least that's how he figured it went. _**"Part of it," Waller stated as he was running through his thoughts. "She's jeopardizing our security and is causing more headaches than she's worth; however, we also need you to spring Catwoman from Arkham as well, and I'm sure I don't need to inform you on the repercussions of saying no," she said with a final note of finality as she waited for his response. **_He was irritated to say the least, but he couldn't say no. _**"I'm doing this for Catwoman," he stated with a growl.**

After hanging up (or more accurately, slamming his phone back into its holder) he decided the best way to reach his first objective was to make his way down to the GCPD and pretend to steal data from the National Criminal Database. Getting in was easy, and making his way to the server room was tricky, especially since some of the cops were on a routine patrol. Once there, he placed a PWN box into a spot on the hard-drive and then decided to make his presence known by activating the alarm. He leaned smugly against the drive and once the officers made their way to the server room, he quickly stood in front of his PWN box and pulled it out, then slipped it into a pouch before the officers turned to look in his direction and aimed their guns at them. "Guess I'm caught," he said with a smirk as he put his hands in the air and got down on his knees.

The trip to Arkham had gone differently than he had anticipated, especially since Commissioner Gordon was his escort. When Gordon told his officers to stand down and let him handle their intruder, even Tim was shocked. Sure Gordon was a smart man and sure he probably had some clue as to Tim's former life as Robin, but he wasn't sure what to make of this. Instead of making small talk (like he had hoped for but knew wouldn't) Gordon started hounding him with questions: "Who are you?, "Why did you break into the GCPD?, "What's your relationship with Catwoman?", the basic questions he had expected, but one question caught him off guard. "Why did you hop the fence kid?" _'Dammit,_' he thought to himself at the time as he turned away. "I was... Fired," he answered quickly, letting out a sigh of relief as they made it to the asylum. Once the car was parked and he was escorted inside, it was the waiting game. His PWN box had actually been downloading information and schematics on the Asylum, as well as some of Waller's selected inmates: Harley Quinn and Catwoman. When he got the signal from an inside man, he would have to work quickly to spring them without setting off any alarms and execute the final stage in Gotham before heading off to the nation's capitol.

Ch. 1


	2. Breaking & Exiting

Still sitting in his cell, Tim's patience became dangerously thin due to the radio silence, which had now lasted three days. Aside from the trip to the psychiatrist like every other inmate and the free meals which he barely touched (since he couldn't bring himself to trust the cooks at this asylum) he kept himself entertained by messing with the zipper on his catsuit and by checking through the pouches. He was clad in his suit, a single, thick piece of leather-like material that he and Selina had _misappropriated_ from Wayne Tech. It was extremely tight, and opened with a single zipper up his chest that went from his throat, though he never zipped it up that far, all the way down to his pelvis area, which had taken some getting used to. The flexibility of this was far better than any other costume he had donned. As far as protection went, Selina's only comment had been,

"Try to avoid bullets." A little more research on his part had told him that the fabric was tensile, but reinforced. It could stop glancing shots, and even some calibers when fired straight for the wearer, but wasn't as conducive to armour as it was to agility, and wouldn't help so much with the repercussions of bullets. Broken ribs were to be watched out for. It was woven in a way that made it very difficult, but not impossible to cut.

His whip was hung on his utility belt, surprisingly easy to use, even more so after he got used to it. His goggles were pulled down, orange lenses shielding his eyes. After running through all the information regarding his suit through his mind again, he sighed as he stood up and walked over to the door and rested his forehead against the barred door, wondering why Gordon hadn't had all his gear removed. 'Odd,' he thought to himself as he walked back and sat down cross-legged against the back wall, still waiting on this supposed alert from this insider man he had yet to even be made aware of. He was beginning to think that he was set up when he felt a small vibration coming from one of the pouches on his suit. He fumbled around for a minute before he pulled out his old comm. device and slid it carefully under his cap, placing it into his ear and clicking it before taking his hand out and standing up. "I'm here," he whispered as he walked around a bit.

"Good," came the reply from one Amanda Waller, "because in thirty (30) seconds after this message, our man will place a looped feed of your cell into the security system and unlock your door. From there, you know the rest and I'm sure I don't need to remind you about the success of this mission Mr. Drake," she told him with a commanding tone.

"Got it, and yes I know the importance of this job you're sending me on, but do me a favor and stop calling me Mr. Drake. I'm not a tool for the government or you," he informed with bitterness in his voice before cutting off his comm. "The things I do for people," he muttered to himself as the door clicked open. He breathed a sigh of relief as he carefully poked his head out into the hallway. Empty, but the chances of worker coming by on a routine check were high since this was the mother of all madhouses. Deciding that he had to move quickly, he pulled the goggles down over his eyes and took off down the hall, stopping immediately at the corner and pulling out a smoke pellet just in case. His thief vision, though not as impressive as his detective vision from his days as Robin, did its job by showing that there were no guards in the area. He then moved into a crouched position and moved down the corridor before reaching a large double door. Tim quickly opened up the left door and moved into the room, smiling softly as he stood up and noticed the sign on the wall that indicated to the main security room. 'Idiots,' he chuckled to himself mentally as he quietly ran down to the end of the room and quietly moved through the next door, then walked up a ramp and turned the corner and ascended a flight of stairs to come into the main security room. He placed his left hand on his hip as his right hand tucked the smoke pellet back into its pouch while he shook his head. The only thing blocking his access to the computer was a sole guard who was busy reading his porn magazine and drinking his coffee. Stray strolled over to the man casually before clearing his throat while pinching a nerve in the back of his neck to knock him unconscious. "You really should read the officer's manual," he deadpanned as he sat down in the chair and got to work with his 'mission'. He punched in a few commands on the keyboard and within a few seconds found what he was looking for. Two cellblocks showed up on two of the screens in front of him: one was Harley's cell and the other was Catwoman's. He reached into the side pocket on his utility belt and pulled out his PWN box, then placed it into a slot on the massive modem to his left, then pressed the button and moved back in front of the screens and clicking his second comm. device and contacting Selina. "Hey mom, I think you know why I'm here and I think you know whose cell is to your left. Once you hear the click, wait a minute, then grab Harley and meet me in the courtyard. Tell her someone is taking her to the Joker if you have to," he stated as he punched in some commands and unlocked their doors.

"Will do Kitten," she said with a smile while looking up at the camera and blowing a kiss. Once her door was open, she did as needed and moved swiftly into Harley's cell and grabbed her hand, then led her down the hallway and stopped at the corner when she noticed a small group of guards. "Uh, Kitten…"

"Don't worry," he responded before letting out a soft chuckle and typing in a code to open up all the cell doors, allowing the less dangerous inmates to run free and distract the guards. "I'd be careful though if I were you," he finished as he quickly stood up, grabbed his PWN box, stuck it back into the pocket in his belt and took off for the courtyard.

A few of the inmates here and there around the asylum heard the clicks and walked up to the doors to look around, only to find that the doors were no longer holding them back. As a guard was walking down the hall, some of the inmates lunged out and attacked, but not before, he could get the call out.," Warning!" He called out in worry and surprise. "We've got a possible Code 10! Repeat, possible Code 10, some of the inmates have escaped their cells. Contain them, and somebody check the security mainframe," he ordered as he and several other guards who had just shown up to help contain the escapees. Selina and Harley made their way through the mass of confusion to the courtyard, where Harley spotted Stray and caught his attention with random and excited waving. He nodded and looked up when the sound of a helicopter became present and a rope ladder dropped down. Harley and Selina made their way up, kicking off a few inmates who hoped to escape as well, before Tim made his way over and jumped up, skipping a few rungs as the helicopter ascended into the air and away from the asylum where the guards still had their hands full. Tim climbed in and closed the door behind him before clicking his comm. device and sitting down across from the two women. "Stage 2 was a success. We're making our way to HQ," he said as he watched the co-pilot knock Harley out with an anesthesia mask before she could complain. He sighed and looked out the window and wondered to himself, 'What have I gotten myself into.'


	3. Trial Run

Tim walked down the halls of the underground bunker used as the official JLA headquarters. The meeting with Waller took longer than expected, partially because Harley Quinn had to once again be restrained, but also because he was put on notice.

"Should it be decided that your skills are needed, be prepared to undertake a task with a member or members from the JLA," she stated bluntly.

She didn't give him a chance to voice his disapproval, she gave an implication as to what her intentions were and left it at that before walking out.

'Looks like Batman was right. The nerve of that woman,' Tim thought to himself as he turned the corner only to bump into one Col. Steve Trevor.

"Sorry there Cat... Who?" He looked at Tim from head to toe for a moment before slowly raising an eyebrow.

Tim sighed in annoyance since he already had an idea of what was coming. He shook his head a bit before raising a finger to keep the man silent.

"Before you find that joke in your head and verbalize it, don't. It's been done, and yes, I'm obviously not Catwoman, I'm Stray, sort of like an adopted son. Hello; good-bye."

With that, Tim quickly gave a nod before marching past Steve and towards what he hoped would be an empty part of the base.

Elsewhere:

"So let me see if I've got this right, if I help you with a few tasks here and there, you'll lead me to whoever it is that's been using my name? Sounds a bit too straightforward, but I suppose it'll work," Selina said with a small smirk.

She couldn't help but think of Tim at this moment and how he had been adamant on her declining whatever offer Waller had prepared.

"She's not to be trusted," he had warned with a stern voice.

Selina simply shook her head before standing up and shaking Waller's hand.

"Glad to hear it, I'm sure the Justice League of America will benefit from your services... Both yours, and his," she finished smugly.

Selina was of course prepared for this, because Tim was prepared for this. He had assumed that Waller wouldn't let him off the hook so easily, and he was right.

Selina took a quick breath before smiling softly. "I'm sure they will. Kitten is a very capable person," she informed proudly before walking out to have a look around.

Tim sighed to himself as he walked into the gym and over to a sparing ring. Memories of his days as Robin flashed into his mind and caused him to smile momentarily as he remembered watching Dick and Babs spar.

"Good times," he muttered under his breath before turning to leave.

His casual movements turned into instinctual defense movements when he felt someone else watching him.

He chuckled softly when he caught sight of his viewer and relaxed a bit. "Can I help you?"

Stargirl stood in the doorway and looked at him for a moment out of curiosity before she caught a glimpse of his face and muscular features. Tim resisted the urge to clear his throat as Stargirl looked him up and down without a single hint of deduction involved. She was checking him out, but even more so, she wasn't trying to hide it at all.

"Who are you supposed to be?" She asked as she walked over to him.

Tim cleared his throat a bit before taking a small bow. "Stray's the name and stealing's my game. And you?"

"Cute," she started, "I'm... Stargirl, and if you're really a thief, then why are you here?"

"Waller feels that more pawns will aid her with national dominance in the superhero biz, so here I am, and Catwoman isn't far behind."

Stargirl's look went from curious to anger when Tim finished.

"I know being labeled a pawn doesn't sit well with you, but Waller has her own agenda. You should know that at least."

She simply nodded and continued to stare at him, this time with deduction involved. Even though she wasn't a detective, she could tell (or at least she felt) that he was trustworthy, even if he was a thief, and that he was smarter then most people, even though she could pretty much guarantee that they were the same age.

"I guess you're right... Tim," she responded with a smirk as she folded her arms across her chest.

Tim's eyes widened for a moment at that.

'D-did she...? Waller,' he thought to himself somewhat angrily. 'I shouldn't have put it past her, so no doubt that Trevor, and everyone else on the JLA knows.'

"Nice, but when I'm in my suit, it's Stray Courtney," he shot back with a hint of challenge in his voice.

They both balled their hands into fists as they began to size each other up and stare intently at the other.

Before the situation could progress any further, Courtney got a call on her comm link. "Stargirl, report to my office, and bring the Cat-lad with you," Waller's firm voice ordered before cutting off.

They both relaxed a bit before turning to head for Amanda Waller's office. The walk there, although only a few minutes, seemed longer than that as both teens kept staring at each other, only to instantly look away when the other one noticed. Once there, they stood by as Waller handed Tim a comm device.

"Nothing major, just a bank robbery, but there's at least a dozen gunmen. Should be easy enough for the two of you, especially since one of you has been trained extensively for such things and more. You're ride is in the hangar, now go," she finished before picking up a phone to make another call.

Stray and Stargirl walked out of the office and towards the hangar, but Stargirl was curious as to what Waller was referring to.

"I used to work with Batman," Tim informed when he noticed Courtney's body movements. "Seems like an eternity really."

"Soo... Waller called you in because you're like a younger Batman then right? If she can't have him on her side, someone with just as much talent and half the age will work too right?" She asked a bit quickly as they found their mode of transportation.

"Something like that," he replied as he got in and looked at the controls. "Have you been certified in a Javelin?"

She shook her head and shrugged a bit.

"Fair enough," he mused as they sat down and strapped in before preparing to take off.

Once everything was set, Courtney pressed the button to open the hangar doors before Tim started the engine and took off into the sky. Both felt a bit uncomfortable after a few moments of silence and waited for the other to say something.

"Sorry," Tim finally said to break the silence.

"What for?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow beneath her mask.

"Earlier," he informed.

"Oh. Well, me too," she said in a soft voice. "You're... Kind of quiet too."

"Habit, but we're almost there," he informed as he flipped a switch to activate the vehicle's camouflage mode before landing.

They quickly made their way out to assess the situation before making their move. Once Tim had used his goggles to get a general view of the inside, he turned to Courtney and nodded.

"Twelve goons, eight armed, and five hostages. This is gonna be easy," he informed before grabbing her hand and leading her in from a side vent.

"Are you sure about this? One mistake and we could have five deaths on our heads," she responded feeling slightly worried about how calm he seemed.

"Relax. I've been doing this for years. If you follow my lead and take them down silently and quickly from the shadows, we'll be fine," he stated with a confident smile before dropping down behind one and pinching his nose while covering his mouth until he passed out. "See? Just like that," he informed.

"... Alright," she said reluctantly before swiftly making her way behind a thug and covering his mouth with a gloved hand and kicking him in the back of the leg to bring him to his knees before applying a sleeper hold to knock him out.

After a few minutes, Stargirl took out the last thug simply by hitting him in the back of his head with her staff. She and Stray then dragged each thug into a pile in the middle of the bank before letting the authorities take over.

"Thanks for the help back there. Told ya it was gonna be easy though," Tim said as he and Courtney walked out of Waller's office.

"You're welcome..," she said a bit slowly.

Tim raised an eyebrow as he looked at her and wondered if maybe he should pry and try to find out if she was bothered about something. He got his answer though when she turned and grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him into a firm kiss before pulling away blushing and running off.

"Odd, and yet... Interesting. So it's not all bad here," he muttered to himself before making his way to his newly assigned quarters to think about what had just transpired.


End file.
